The Marauders' Prediction
by Cassandra Anthemyst
Summary: What if the marauders went to a fourtune teller and she told them what was in store? How would they react? Find out!


"Hey, guys, check this out!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to a small building with a sign over the door reading, 'Fortune-tellings: eight galleons a group'. "Does everyone have at least two galleons left?" he asked.  
  
"If you don't, you guys can hit me up for money," James offered. Sirius gave him puppy eyes. In response, James hit Sirius, and Sirius' jangling pockets betrayed him.  
  
"Oh, yeah, you can't afford it, Padfoot. Come on." James started inside, and the other three followed him. They sat down at a table draped in an elegant and exotic looking cloth. Sirius started playing with the fringe until Remus noticed and hit him. An old lady glided in, and sat across from the boys.  
  
"I see why you have come: you wish to have your futures foretold."  
  
"Amazing prediction, that. Who'da thunk, with that huge sign on the door, someone might come in for a prediction?" Sirius hissed at James, who kicked him under the table. The old lady inhaled deeply and began to speak.  
  
"One of you four will be murdered by another of you four. A third will be blamed, while the second fakes death and lives like an animal. Only the fourth will achieve his secret ambition, but he will be alone and friendless, assuming two dead and one worse..." She trailed off, and looked at the four Marauders in disbelief, as though she hadn't expected to say something so absurd. Each boy laid his two galleons on the table and left in silence.  
  
Sirius was the first to speak. It was harder to believe the woman's ramblings out in the sunlight. "Does anyone honestly believe that old bird's prediction? I bet she was just trying to keep it interesting..." he trailed off, doubtful. James raised his eyes.  
  
"If she wanted to keep it interesting, she could've talked about the sort of things that actually INTEREST teenage boys-"  
  
"Like a certain Miss Evans?" Moony joked.  
  
"Shut up. What I mean is, that's not the kind of thing you'd say if you were faking, right?"  
  
"I dunno," Peter said, "She sounded kind of like Trelawny to me…" Sirius laughed, though Peter probably hadn't meant to be funny.  
  
"I say we think about it logically and see if we can figure out who's who," Remus rationalized.  
  
"You want to accuse someone here of being a potential murdered?" Sirius asked accusingly.  
  
"Nooo...why don't we start with the fourth guy? It'd be the easiest. What's everyone's 'secret ambition'? Prongs?"  
  
"I'll tell you what his secret ambition is, he wants to get it on with a certain Miss Ev-" Sirius was interrupted by James, who chose that particular moment to tackle him. Remus and Peter patiently observed the two rolling around on the street. They were used to this sort of thing. Peter looked at his watch, and after five minutes he nudged Remus. They untangled James and held him away from Sirius, giving him time to get up.  
  
"Padfoot, you definitely had that one coming," Remus said exasperatedly.  
  
"Padfoot has EVERY one of those coming to him," James pointed out, pulling away from Remus and Peter, dusting off his robes.  
  
"Anyway..." prompted Remus.  
  
"Anyway, I guess my secret ambition is to become Minister of Magic. Like my dad," James admitted. "Padfoot?"  
  
"To lose my virginity as soon as possible," he promptly and proudly replied. Remus smacked him. "Oww... okay, okay, I guess...Well, I'd like to become an Auror. Guess that's it, really. Moony?" Remus sighed. The answer was easy for him.  
  
"To become a teacher. At Hogwarts," he replied glumly.  
  
"That's cool. Instruct the next generation of Marauders, huh?" James asked jokingly.  
  
"I guess... It's just..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I doubt I could. It was hard enough to get in as a student...because of...you know." He blushed and turned away sadly.  
  
"Remus," James said defiantly, "there is NOTHING wrong with having some lycanthropic problems-"  
  
"Except for the fact that I become a vicious monster with the potential to kill once a month-"  
  
"And besides, who knows? Maybe by the time you become old enough to teach there'll be a cure, or something," James reasoned hopefully. Remus snorted.  
  
"Yeah, and maybe Snape's got a good side. Come on, you know as well as I do that the Ministry would rather kill off all werewolves than put one Knut towards HELPING us," Remus said bitterly. James looked down guiltily, thinking of his father.  
  
"They may be like that NOW," interrupted Sirius, "but not when Prongs here is Minister." Remus smiled.  
  
"Thanks. What about you, Peter?" Peter squirmed.  
  
"I don't have one... I never really thought about it..."  
  
"You mean you've never felt confident enough in yourself to set goals?" Remus asked quietly. Peter squirmed again.  
  
"Wormtail," James started, "you've gotta stop putting yourself down. You're good at stuff!"  
  
"Like what?" he asked doubtfully.  
  
"Like Herbology!" Sirius put in.  
  
"Great. I'll be a gardener. What an ambition," he replied monotonously. James glared at Sirius, who cowered.  
  
"You're good at other things...charms, for one."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Peter replied, smiling a bit. Then he sobered. "Bet I'm the one who gets murdered," he mumbled.  
  
"No, I've figured it out," Sirius announced. "I get murdered by Prongs, 'cause Lily and I-"  
  
"Padfoot! Stop and think about what you're saying for once," Remus warned.  
  
"Wow, thanks," Sirius said. "That was a close one, huh?"  
  
"Too close," said James, punching him.  
  
"Ow! Why do people look at me and think 'punching bag'?"  
  
"It has nothing to do with how you look," Remus said, "It's the way you sound. The way you talk, one would think you WANTED to get hit."  
  
"Well, actually…" Sirius started dreamily.  
  
"Not like that! Padfoot, could you get your mind out of the gutter for maybe two seconds?" Remus asked, annoyed.  
  
"Guys?" interrupted Peter, "what did she mean when she said, 'two dead and one worse'?"  
  
"I'm guessing whoever gets framed goes to Azkaban? I'd say that's worse than death. Dad took me there when I was 14. I was curious, see. I will never forget it. I only stood by the door while he went in, and still. It was the worst moment of my life, hearing the people in there screaming, and feeling those creatures..." James lapsed into silence, as each boy thought, depressed, about having one's soul sucked from him. Sirius coughed.  
  
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd never kill any of you. Ever." He looked at the three Marauders: James, who he had grown up with and loved like a brother; Remus, who he hadn't know for as long, but felt just as loyal to; and Peter, who needed him more than he could imagine.  
  
"Nor I," vowed Peter. He looked at the three boys in front of him. They all protected him and made him feel better about himself, better that a worthless waste. "You guys are all I have," he whispered.  
  
"Same goes here," Remus said, looking at the three boys who had unbelievably accepted him even after they found out about his well-guarded secret.  
  
"And here," James insisted. He looked over his friends: Sirius, the joker; Peter, the voice of reason; and Remus, the "could've been Ravenclaw" who worked out the kinks in their plots.  
  
"Well then," said Sirius, "I propose a Marauder oath, that no matter what, we won't let that kinky old bat's prediction come true." James smiled; glad to know that Sirius, who was always joking around, felt as passionate about this as he did. He put his hand on top of Sirius'. Remus followed suit, then Peter. "We all swear this on our honor as Marauders," Sirius started. Four voices chorused:  
  
"AGREED!" 


End file.
